Basket ball deflector

ABSTRACT

A suspendable deflector which can be readily attached and detached from a basketball goal rim and which is designed to deflect a successful &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;shot&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; back to the shooter. In a preferred embodiment the deflector is magnetically attached to the basketball rim and is designed so that as a ball passes through the net of the goal the deflector intercepts the path of the ball as the ball passes out of the bottom of the net.

United States Patent [19] Steele, Jr.

[ Mar. 26, 1974 1 BASKET BALL DEFLECTOR [76] Inventor: Joseph R. Steele, Jr., 50 Hillside Rd., Strafford, Pa. 19087 [51] int. Cl. A63!) 63/02, A63b 69/40 [58] Field of Search 273/15 A, 103

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Pascucci 273/15 A Scalf 273/l.5 A Holstad 273/l.5 A

2,889,149 6/1959 Williams 273/103 Primary Examiner-Richard C. Pinkham Assistant ExaminerPaul E. Shapiro 5 7 ABSTRACT A suspendable deflector which can be readily attached and detached from a' basketball goal rim and which is designed to deflect a successful shot back to the shooter. In a preferred embodiment the deflector is magnetically attached to the basketball rim and is designed so that as a ball passes through the net of the goal the deflector intercepts the path of the ball as the ball passes out of the bottom of the net.

6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures BASKET BALL DEFLECTOR FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention may be used with any basketball rim and has particular utility where a single player or small group of players are practicing shooting a basketball.

As in the case with most sports basketball shooting can only be improved by long arduous hours of practice. Shooting is essentially an individual act and concentrated shooting practice occurs usually when an individual is alone or with several other players. When shooting from a distance, it is necessary to retrieve the ball after shooting which is time consuming when a person is shooting alone. Also regardless of whether the shot is successful, after each shot is taken the ball must be retrieved. Well known to psychologists is the fact that rewards condition and improve various types of conduct. The more immediate the reward the more effectual it is. When a ball is returned to a shooter immediately after he successfully makes a shot while the ball must be physically retrieved when the shot is missed, very effective conditioning occurs which greatly enhances the players ability to concentrate on each shot. This added concentration produces large rewards in terms of a players increased proficiency in shooting.

An existing U.S. patent discloses a basketball guide for returning shots which comprise a net which extends from the rim to the feet of the player shooting. Unfortunately such a device is both distracting and unduly cumbersome to work with. To achieve optimum results it is necessary that the deflector be as inconspicuous as possible. Furthermore the deflector should be readily attachable to a rim to be practical and must not extend into the shooting area above the rim.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION It is therefore a principle object of the present invention to provide a ball deflector that may be suspended from a basketball rim and which is readily attachable and detachable.

It is a related object of the present invention to provide a ball deflector for attachment to a basketball rim that is inconspicuous.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a ball deflector for attachment to a basketball rim that can be easily attached and detached by a relatively short person without aids such as ladders or stools.

In accordance with these and other objects a basketball deflector has been invented which in the preferred embodiment is magnetically attached to the bottom and/or supporting parts of the rim. It is freely suspendable below the rim and does not interfere with the areas above and to the sides of the rim which. a shot capable of going into the basket might come into contact with. It has been discovered that magnets sufficient to hold the deflector in place as the successful shot goes through the basket are not to strong to prevent the ready removal of the device. The deflector may be so designed that as the ball passes through the net a spring action takes place causing the bottom part to project outwardly into the path of the ball knocking it in the direction of the shooter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I shows a magnetically attached deflector with a force imparting bend structure;

FIG. 2 shows a cross section ofa rim with magnet attached;

FIG. 3 shows a side view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows a magnetically attachable deflector with a spring actuated impact area;

FIG. 5 shows a magnetically attached deflector with a stationary impact area; and

FIG. 6 discloses a deflector which is attachable to the rim by hooks and uses an electronic eye.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIG. 1 a standard basketball goal is shown. Basketball rim 3 is connected to backboard I3 by supporting structure 10. The goal has net 14 attached to loop holders 11 around rim 3 (See FIG. 6). In accordance with the present invention a deflector is attached to the rim by magnets l. The number of magnets is not critical but they should be so placed on the bottom of rim 3 as shown or they can be attached in part to the rim 3 and in part to metal supporting structure 10 which holds rim 3 to backboad 13. Of course the magnetic attachments will only work where rim 3 and supporting structure 10 are made of a metal to which magnets are attracted.

Extending downwardly from magnets I the deflector has supports 2 which unite at connection 4 and a bent portion 5 which abuts the net area or protrudes slightly into the net area so as to be contacted by a ball traveling through the rim 3. In this embodiment the area 5 must be of a springy metal which haS give to it so as to be displaced slightly to the rear asa ball comes into contact with it. In this manner the area 5 of the deflector will spring slightly forward so impact area 6 intercepts the ball at the base of the net 14 and imparts a slight forward thrust against it. In this manner the ball is returned in the direction of the shooter. Necessarily the deflector must be positioned so that it is facing in the direction of the shooter. Accordingly the shooter can be in the middle of the court in the proximity of the foul line on a regulation basketball court or can be along the sides which are known as the corner areas of the court. If the magnets 1 are designed so as to be attachable to the rim 3 only and not structure 10 this allows the deflector to be positioned so that the shooter may shoot from the corner areas and have the ball returned to him.

When in this type embodiment the magnets l are designed solely to be placed on the rim 3 they may be circular as shown in FIG. 2.

In FIG. 5 a standard rim 3 with a deflector attached by magnets 1 as described above is shown. The deflector as shown in this embodiment is a shaped deflector with a continuous slope 8 which projects into the path of the ball as it comes through the net at tip 15. This type of deflector may be held by magnets as shown or other suitable means and is designed so that the slope 8 and tip 15 direct the ball toward the proximity of the shooter. In this embodiment the deflector body may be made of fiberglass or other transparent material so as to be as least as distracting as possible. A colored area or other standout means may be used at the base, hoever, to insure that the device is safe so that players not knowing of its presence will not accidentally come into contact with it.

In FIG. 4 a deflector has a coil spring 44 so instantaneously upon impact of the ball on impact area 6 the ball is forced forward by spring. 44. The impact area 6 may comprise a resilient material to further increase the rebound.

In FIG. 6 a deflector is shown as having an electronic eye mechanism 16 connected by wiring 19 with sensors 17 and 18 at the rim level or slightly below. When mechanism 16 is actuated as a ball passes through the sensors 17 and 18, arm 8 with tip 15 is shifted forward to impact against the ball. This device may have timing mechanism so that the arm movement can be set to correspond with the dropping time as the ball passes through the net to the impact area. Any type of circuity and off the shelf mechanisms may be used which are standard in the electronics field. As shown in FIG. 6 attachment hooks 12 may be used in place of magnets. They may be used either with net holders 1! or on the supporting structure 10 or on a combination of the two.

Also hooking a deflector arrangement electronic or otherwise directly to a net as shown by hook 12' (FIG. 6) with or without the use of semirigid spacers is contemplated. While only hook 12' is shown, it will be appreciated that it may be attached to the support structure in the same manner as hook 12.

In accordance with the invention the deflector is made as inconspicuous as possible. Transparent materials and smallness in size of the components are desired. While the deflector areas such as 8 of the various embodiments may be wedge-shaped, channelized or straight portions, they may be also be relatively narrow so as to present very little surface and utilize relatively small impact areas 6, 15 for contact with the ball.

Magnets are to be used which are of sufflcient power to withstand the impact of the ball against contact areas. Some of the force transmitted to the magnets by the ball impact is vertical against the greatest strength of the magnetic attraction. To remove the deflector, horizontal force is effective to slide the magnets off rather than applying direct pulling force against them.

A relatively small force against the ball by the impact area of the deflector is sufficient to direct the ball in the general direction desired. Not only does this action tend to direct the ball to the shooter to eliminate the need of physically retrieving it but it also givs the shooter the ball in motion so as to simulate a pass from a teammate whereby the shooter can break toward the ball, catch it and immediately shoot it as in game conditions.

The deflector and its attachment portions maybe foldable and collapsable into several portions to facilitate handling and carrying as well as storage when not in use.

I claim:

1. A basketball deflector comprising an elongated downwardly extending and forwardly inclined member to be positioned below the rim of a basketball goal;

means to detachably connect said member to basketball goal equipment; and

means by which said elongated member is moved to engage a basketball as it passes through the rim and deflect such a basketball in the direction of incline of said elongated member.

2. The deflector of claim 1 wherein said means by which said elongated member is moved comprises an electronic eye.

3. The deflector of claim 1 wherein said means to move comprises the resiliency of said elongated memher.

4. The deflector of claim 1 wherein said basketball goal equipment is the basketball goal net.

5. The deflector of claim 1 wherein said basketball goal equipment is the basketball goal rim.

6. The deflector of claim 5 wherein said means to detachably connect said member comprises magnetic means. 

1. A basketball deflector comprising an elongated downwardly extending and forwardly inclined member to be positioned below the rim of a basketball goal; means to detachably connect said member to basketball goal equipment; and means by which said elongated member is moved to engage a basketball as it passes through the rim and deflect such a basketball in the direction of incline of said elongated member.
 2. The deflector of claim 1 wherein said means by which said elongated member is moved comprises an electronic eye.
 3. The deflector of claim 1 wherein said means to move comprises the resiliency of said elongated member.
 4. The deflector of claim 1 wherein said basketball goal equipment is the basketball goal net.
 5. The deflector of claim 1 wherein said basketball goal equipment is the basketball goal rim.
 6. The deflector of claim 5 wherein said means to detachably connect said member comprises magnetic means. 